Benefits of Camp: Fun

Benefits of Camp: Fun

What Parents Think of Camp!

Recent American Camp Association (ACA) opinion research revealed that parents see fun and safety as most important to the camp experience. According to Marla Coleman, former president of the American Camp Association, nineteen focus groups consisting of parents and ACA members throughout the country were surveyed. "Parents have very definitive perceptions of the value of camp for their children. They believe that developmental value is important-social and emotional growth, but this is secondary to providing their children with safe and secure facilities, along with positive and fun activities."

Parents were also surprised to learn that there is no government oversight of camps. Marla Coleman continues, "The parents in our focus groups assumed that oversight of all camps was done — that because camps involved children, someone was checking. Most parents did not know that camp accreditation is voluntary through the American Camp Association."

ACA is the only organization that accredits all types of camps, with up to 300 national standards for health and safety. ACAs accreditation program educates camp owners and directors in the administration of key aspects of camp operation, particularly those related to program quality and the health and safety of campers and staff. The standards establish guidelines for needed policies, procedures, and practices. The camp, then, is responsible for on-going implementation of these policies. "ACA accreditation assures parents that the camp they have chosen has had a regular, independent safety audit that goes beyond regulations in most states," explains Marla. "It helps parents select a camp that meets industry-accepted and government-recognized standards."

Why Camp?

There are more options than ever before to keep a child busy during the summer, yet summer camp enrollment remains steady despite economic and world conditions. This phenomenon has left many people to ponder the question, why camp?

The answer seems to lie in the fact that camp does more than keep a child busy. According to camp directors, parents send their children to camp because of the positive impact it has on youth development. In a 1998 national survey of camps accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA), camp directors reported that parents rate the most important benefits of camp to be:

Increased self-confidence and self-esteem

Providing a safe place

Making new friends

Offering fun activities

"Parents are recognizing what we in the organized camping industry have known for years," said Peg Smith*, CEO of ACA. "Camp is a vital element in a child's total development and it complements the academic skills that are learned in school with experiential based life skills."

According to Robert Ditter, a clinical psychologist who specializes in child and adolescent treatment, camp helps build emotional intelligence. He states that camp contributes to the development of three emotionally based competencies - cognitive emotional quotient (EQ), social EQ and emotional EQ - and these competencies cannot be taught in the conventional sense. Rather, they are developed through experience.

"Today's camp curriculums," Ditter said, "are designed to teach socialization skills that help a child better cope in the real world."

American Camp Association

About ACA

The American Camp Association is a community of camp professionals who, for over 100 years, have joined together to share our knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp programs. Because of our diverse 12,000 plus membership and our exceptional programs, children and adults have the opportunity to learn powerful lessons in community, character-building, skill development, and healthy living — lessons that can be learned nowhere else.